


What you need...

by Cor321



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: 8x04 Coda, Best friend Jay, F/M, Pre-Relationship, emotional hurt comfort, not a boyfriend, soft jay, sometimes she needs her best friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cor321/pseuds/Cor321
Summary: When Jay goes to Hailey's apartment after everything that happened with the case and her dad, he's not sure what he's expecting or what she would be expecting of him. He realized quickly, he knew exactly what she needed.
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Kudos: 42





	What you need...

**Author's Note:**

> I am firmly of the belief that after everything that happened with her father, Hailey didn't need a boyfriend, she just needed her best friend. This fic reflects that. I hope you all enjoy my first fic in the fandom (also yes this has been hanging out in my docs for a couple weeks).

Jay hadn’t even realized where he was driving until he wound up at the front of Hailey’s building. It’s crazy to him how much had changed in the last 72 hours, how just a few days ago he would be doing the exact same thing as he was doing now, but without the intimate knowledge of how soft Hailey was beneath the pads of his fingers, he didn’t know the taste of honey on her lips from her favourite lip balm. He didn’t know the way her breath hitched under his own. Yet today he knew he had to forget all of that, because Hailey didn’t need the Jay that had figured out how to take her apart inch by inch, she needed the Jay that knew what she was thinking with just a look.

Jay took a deep breath before knocking on the door, fiddling with the jacket in his hand until he heard Hailey walking toward the door and opening it.

He smiled, a hesitant smile when she saw her. “Hi.” She said, the smile on her face not reaching her eyes.

“Hey.” He replied as she locked the door.

“Beer?” Hailey asked, ignoring the tension that was in the air.

“Yeah, sure.” Jay replied, pausing before figuring out how to broach the topic that was on his mind. “So, how’d it go?” He said, dropping his coat on the edge of the couch.

“Uhh,” Hailey paused for a few moments, while she grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “Good,” she eyed Jay up and down. “I’m glad I talked to him.” She was curt with the words she said. But just by the eye contact she gave and tone she used, Jay knew it wasn’t the whole story. He so badly wanted to press her more, but he held back because he wasn’t her boyfriend, he can’t protect her from everything the world throws at her. As he cracked open his beer she dropped her gaze and he saw it, she was hurting. He could tell she wasn’t ready to talk about it, hopefully one day she would be, but tonight was not that night. What she needed in that moment, he realized, was her best friend, her partner. 

“Do you want to throw on a Netflix show?” Jay asked as he sipped his beer.

“Sure.” She said as she grabbed her beer and walked toward the living room. “You okay with Brooklyn Nine-Nine?” She asked, Jay laughed.

“A cop show, really?” Jay asked with a smirk.

Hailey sent him a soft smile. “It’s so mindless, I don’t think I have the energy to pay attention to a plot.”

Jay smiled softly as he sat down on the couch while Hailey set the rest of it up. He threw his arm over the back of the couch. When Hailey sat down, she slotted herself into Jay’s side and the tension in the air eased. No matter how much he wanted to go further, he would let Hailey instigate any contact they had. 

They didn’t talk much for the rest of the night, they shared a quip here and there. The further into the night they got, the closer Hailey nuzzled into Jay. He ran his fingers along her arm slowly while they watched tv. By the middle of the second episode she had laid her head on his thighs and he was running his fingers through her long blonde hair. 

The episode ended and he tried waking her up gently so she could move to the bedroom, but she was completely out. He stood up, picked her up bridal style and brought her to her room and laid her down on the bed. Jay couldn’t help but admire how calm she looked, her expression soft as she slept. He hadn’t seen her brows unfurough once since their carefree start to that morning. He looked up and was reminded of where they were just a few days ago, having finally made that next step. Everything in him wanted to climb in and pull her close, but he knew in his heart that it wasn’t what she needed. He brushed the hair off her face and kissed her forehead. Someday soon they would talk and figure out what exactly they were and maybe he could stay with her on nights like this, but tonight wasn’t the night for that. As Jay made up a bed on the couch, as he had done a million times before he hoped that she would know he was there, always and forever.


End file.
